Getting The Fever
by Ilex the Elder
Summary: When Professor Oak gets ill, Delia's called upon to cure his fever. However, through his recovery and Delia's subsequent illness, Samuel develops another type of fever that can't be cured by aspirin
1. Friday

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As much as I would like to take credit for the poem Samuel reads to Delia in this story, I can't. It's "The Progress of Love" by the English poet Robert Dodsley (1703-64).

**** __

What a miserable day, thought Delia Ketchum as she glanced out the window. It was one of those dreary November afternoons: cold, damp, overcast, and now a steady rain was starting to fall. 

__

Good thing I'm in here and not out there, she sighed as she sipped her hot tea and warmed herself in front of the fire that was crackling in the fireplace. As she sank down on the sofa ready to curl up with a good book, she was startled by a knock at the door.

__

Now who in the world could that be, she wondered. Ash wasn't due home for another couple of hours.

As she opened the door, she was surprised to see a drenched Professor Oak standing on her front porch.

"I'm so sorry to inconvenience you, Mrs. Ketchum," he said apologetically. "I was riding past your house on my bike when the rain started and was wondering if you'd let me stay here for a few minutes until the storm passes."

"Of course," she said as he stepped inside and stood dripping on her floor. "What in the world were you doing outside on a day like today?"

"I was on my way back from Viridian City. Nurse Joy wanted some of the fever elixir I've concocted for a sick Nidoran, so I thought I'd ride over and take it to her. I didn't plan on the rain, however."

"You're shivering," Delia noticed. "Go down the hall to the bathroom and take those wet clothes off this instant. You'll catch your death of cold."

"Oh, that's not necessary, Mrs. Ketchum." He didn't want to put her out any more than he already had. "I'll be fine."

At that unfortunate moment, he sneezed.

"That's it." Delia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the bathroom. "Clothes off, now. I'll bring you some towels to dry off with."

By the time he had opened his mouth to protest, she had already shoved him into the bathroom.

"Leave your wet things in a pile on the floor," she ordered as she shut the door. "I'll toss them in the dryer."

Meekly, he did as he was told, but stopped when got down to his underwear.

__

Surely she didn't mean underwear too, did she? No, of course not. Surely not.

He was pondering what to do next when the door slammed open and in barged Delia carrying an armful of towels.

"Yahh! Mrs. Ketchum!" Professor Oak yelped and jumped behind the shower curtain.

"When I said clothes off, I meant _everything_, Professor," she said as she put the towels down on the countertop and picked up his wet clothes. "That includes underwear, too." 

He stood there staring at her. Was she going to just stand there and watch until he had complied with her request?

"Professor Oak," she said wearily. "I've been married before and I have a son. I've seen it all before."

Yes, but she had never seen what _he_ had before.

"Uh, Mrs. Ketchum, why don't you wait outside and I'll hand them to you?" This situation was embarrassing enough as it was.

"Fine," she said as she closed the bathroom door and stood outside. A moment later the door opened a fraction and he handed her his underwear. Delia stifled a laugh when she saw the boxer shorts with the large red polka dots. 

Behind the door, Professor Oak cringed. Why on all days had he chosen today to wear those?

"Dry yourself off, Professor," Delia said, biting her lip in an attempt not to burst out laughing. "I'll see if I can find you something dry to wear."

As soon as she left, he immediately locked the bathroom door. He wasn't going to have a repeat of what happened before.

A few minutes later, Delia knocked at the door. He opened it a fraction and peeked out. 

"Your clothes are in the dryer," she informed him. "I had a hard time trying to find something that would fit you, but here are two choices. Number one," she held up a white robe with pink frills, "if you don't mind the frills. And number two," she held up a white t-shirt and blue sweat pants. "I wore these when I was pregnant with Ash." 

__

No choice there. He pointed to the second outfit.

"That's what I thought. Pink isn't really your color, anyway." She handed him the clothes. "Finish getting dressed and have a seat on the couch when you're done."

---

"Those fit you well, Professor," she commented when he came out of the bathroom. As he sat on the couch, she handed him a cup of hot tea. "Drink that."

"Thank you again for your hospitality, Mrs. Ketchum," he said as he sipped the tea. "I'm sorry to have to put you out like this."

"No problem, Professor. Would you like some hot soup?"

"That would be splendid. Thank you." As she went into the kitchen, he settled back on the couch. 

__

I could get used to this, he thought as he sighed contentedly.

This was the life: it was freezing cold outside (by now it was starting to sleet), but here he was curled up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire in the cozy little house; soft music in the background; Mrs. Ketchum fussing over him, feeding him hot tea and soup. He yawned and stretched out on the couch. 

A few minutes later, Delia appeared. "Here's your soup. It's still hot, so be care…" She stopped in mid-sentence; Professor Oak was asleep on the couch, snoring softly.

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How cute, she smiled as she put the bowl of soup down. Quietly, so as not to wake him, she unfolded the quilt that lay on top of the couch and covered him with it.

---

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What a nice nap, Professor Oak thought as he awoke. He was surprised to see that someone had covered him with a blanket while he was sleeping. 

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Wasn't that nice of her, he smiled as he yawned and stretched. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock on the mantle. It read four-thirty.

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Four-thirty? Then that means that I've been asleep for…nearly two hours!

Professor Oak kicked off the quilt and sat up. He hadn't even meant to fall asleep in the first place, it was just that he was so nice and cozy lying there and he had meant to close his eyes for just a second.

Delia entered the room with a bowl of soup. "Hello, Professor Oak," she said cheerfully. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"I..uh..," he stammered, embarrassed at having fallen asleep on her sofa.

"You looked so comfortable lying there that I hated to wake you," she smiled. "Would you like some soup now?"

"Oh, no thank you," he said hurriedly. "I have to get back to the lab. I wasn't planning on staying this long. I've already taken up more than enough of your time today."

"Oh, it's no bother at all, Professor. Why don't you eat some soup while I go get your clothes out of…" 

She stopped and gave him a funny look. "Professor Oak, are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed to me."

Now that she mentioned it, he did feel a bit warm. "Oh, it's probably just from lying under the blanket."

She leaned over and felt his forehead. "Professor Oak, you're burning up!" she exclaimed. "I'll go get the thermometer."

"Now we'll see if you have a fever or not," she said as she came back downstairs with the digital thermometer. "Open your mouth."

"Mrs. Ketchum, I…mmph." She shoved the thermometer in his mouth while he was still speaking.

"Now keep your mouth closed. No talking."

"Mrs. Ketchum…"

"I said 'no talking'!" She gave him a look that said that she wasn't kidding, so he sat still until the thermometer beeped. Delia's eyes opened wide as she read it.

"Oh my, one hundred one! You're definitely sick, Professor. Go upstairs to Ash's room and lie down, and I'll be up in a couple of minutes."

"Mrs. Ketchum, I appreciate your kindness, but I think I really do need to head back to my place. I've already been enough of a burden to you today as it is." As he stood up and started for the front door, she blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere, especially not out in the cold and sleet with a one-hundred-and-one-degree fever. The only place you're going is upstairs to bed. Now march." She pointed to the stairs.

He knew it was pointless to argue with her, so he accepted defeat and went upstairs to Ash's room. 

---

He was lying on Ash's bed reading a book when Delia entered the room carrying an armful of bottles, medicines, and various other items.

"What are you reading, Professor Oak?"

He quickly hid the book under the sheets. "Uh, nothing." His face turned red.

"Let me see." He reluctantly handed the book to her.

"_The Valley of the Voltorbs_? I didn't know you liked children's novels," she said with amusement.

"Well, the author does seem to have a lot of knowledge about Pokémon in their natural state and habitat. And besides," he said with a sheepish grin, "it's a pretty exciting story."

She handed the book back to him. "I think Ash has all of the novels in the _Pokémon Journeys_ series. Remind me to ask him to let you borrow them sometime. Now then, let's take care of you." She sat down on the edge of the bed and handed him a couple of aspirin. "First, let's get that fever down."

He swallowed the pills, wincing a little.

"Is your throat sore? Let me take a look." Delia found a flashlight in the pile of bottles that she had dumped on the table next to the bed. "Open wide." She peered down his throat. "It's a little red, nothing too bad. Now take your shirt off."

"What?" he said, taken aback at her request. 

"You're congested, so you need some vapor rub. Now will you take that shirt off or do I have to do that for you?"

While the prospect of her taking off his shirt was an interesting one, he decided to do it himself. 

"This will fix you right up," she said, unscrewing the lid of the jar of vapor cream. "You know, you can't be too careful. You could easily get pneumonia riding around in the rain and cold like that."

At that unfortunate moment, he coughed.

"See? I hope it's not too late already." To his surprise, she leaned over and rested her ear against his chest.

"Now take a deep breath."

__

Well, this is nice, he thought as he inhaled. Maybe being sick wasn't so bad after all.

"Now breathe out."

As he exhaled, he slowly lowered his chin so that it ended up resting on top of her head. Her hair was so soft.

__

Very nice indeed.

"Well, everything sounds okay in there," she said as she sat up. "But your heart's beating a bit fast."

With a twinge of guilt, Professor Oak realized that he had been enjoying the examination probably more than he should have been. "Oh, I…I wouldn't worry about that, Mrs. Ketchum. It's just a normal physiologic response to fever." _And to having a pretty woman lying atop your bare chest._

"Well, no matter. This should help things." She started massaging the vapor cream on his chest with slow, smooth strokes.

Professor Oak leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes. This alone had been worth getting sick for.

"Now, do you need anything else? Professor Oak?" He was lying there with contented grin on his face.

He quickly opened his eyes. "Uh, no. I think I'm feeling much better now." 

__

Much, much better now. 

"Okay, then you lie down and rest for a while. I'll check on you later."

After she left, he picked up the book he was reading but found out that he couldn't think of anything else but those soft hands of hers caressing him.

--- 

Delia was on the phone when she heard the door slam.

"Yes, that's right. I'll send him right over tomorrow. Good-bye."

"Hi, Mom," Ash said as he bounded up the stairs. A minute later he came back down with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why is Professor Oak asleep in my bed?"

"The poor man was out riding his bicycle and got caught in the rain. Now he's sick and it's up to us to take care of him."

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't have anyone else to take care of him and he got sick at our house, that's why."

"Is he going to stay here all night?"

"He's going to stay here as long as it takes for him to get well."

"But where am I going to sleep?" Ash whined.

"Well, you certainly can't sleep on the other bunk in your room because Professor Oak needs some peace and quiet. You can sleep downstairs here on the couch. And you'd better get a good night's sleep because you're going to be busy tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"I just got off the phone with the lab, and you're going to be going over there tomorrow to help take care of the Pokémon while Professor Oak is sick. Since tomorrow's Saturday, he won't have any researchers or students around to help out. So I volunteered you."

"You did _what_?!" Ash stared at her in disbelief.

"No back talk, young man. Professor Oak has done a lot to help to with your Pokémon training, so the least you can do is help him out this once."

Ash didn't mind helping out Professor Oak, but he did mind being forced to do it.

"But Mom…."

"Get your friends to help you. I'm sure Misty and Brock would like to give you a hand with the Pokémon at the lab."

"Oh, all right," Ash grumbled.

--- 

When Delia checked on him again Professor Oak was sitting up in bed, engrossed in _The Valley of the Voltorbs._

'As the menacing Rhydon drew closer, roaring savagely, the Voltorb hissed and crackled, building up a powerful electrical charge…' That's not going to work, Professor Oak thought, shaking his head. _Electric attacks are ineffective against ground and rock-type Pokémon._

"Professor?"

He jumped, startled. He had been so caught up in his book that he didn't notice that Delia had come into the room and was standing next to the bed.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if you'd like some soup." She placed the tray she was carrying on his lap.

"Now open wide," Delia said as she offered him a spoonful.

He was about to tell her that he wasn't so sick that he couldn't feed himself, but stopped. It was rather nice having someone worry about him again: taking his temperature, fussing over him, feeding him soup. 

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I could definitely get used to this, he sighed as she spoon-fed him the hot soup.

Delia also had to admit that she enjoyed having someone to take care of again. Since Ash was gone so often on his Pokémon training journeys, she was rather lonely. Having Mimie around helped, but there were times when she would rather have another person around to talk to. Professor Oak was a good friend; he sometimes stopped by her house just to talk or let her know how Ash was doing. She often wondered if he was as lonely as she was. 

"Delicious soup, Mrs. Ketchum. You're an excellent cook," he said as he finished the last spoonful.

"Well, thanks, Professor. Chicken soup was always Ash's favorite. Do you need anything else? More vapor cream?"

__

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

…No, stop it, Samuel. You're taking advantage of Mrs. Ketchum's kindness.

Oh, come on. Don't you want her to touch you again?

…Yes, but not under false pretenses. I don't really need the medicine.

You know you want her to.

…Well, yes, but…

She has such nice, soft hands, doesn't she?

He had been fighting a growing attraction to her for months. The problem was that he wasn't sure she felt the same way about him the way he did about her. 

Ignoring the voice of temptation in his head, he politely declined. "No thank you, Mrs. Ketchum. I think I'm fine for now."

__

…Well, you just blew that chance. Nice move, Romeo. 

"Well, let me know if you need anything else. I'll check on you again before I go to bed. Here's your book back," she said, handing him back _The Valley of the Voltorbs_. "I'll let you get back to your story."

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Now where was I, he wondered as he flipped through the pages of the book. 

She had done it to him again. The thought of having her touch him again had made him so flustered that he couldn't remember what page he had stopped on.

--- 

Just before she went to bed, Delia decided to check on Professor Oak one more time to see if he needed anything. She opened the door a crack and peeked in. He was lying on his back with one arm flung across his chest. Under his arm was a book. Curious, Delia quietly tiptoed over to the bed and looked at the title. _The Forest of the Farfetch'd_. He had already finished the first book and was halfway through the second one.

Smiling, she made a mental note to buy Professor Oak the next book in the _Pokémon Journeys_ series. Then being careful not to disturb him, she gently felt his forehead. The medicine had worked; his fever was down. Satisfied, Delia turned and started to leave.

"Delia…"

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Oh no, I woke him up, Delia thought. She turned around to apologize to Professor Oak, but his eyes were still closed.

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That's odd.

"Delia…" Professor Oak murmured again.

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He's talking in his sleep, she realized. _And he's dreaming about me._

Intrigued, Delia stood over the bed waiting to see if Professor Oak would say anything else.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Delia…you're…so sweet."

__

Awww, isn't that nice of him to say that, Delia thought as she leaned over the bed. 

"I think you're pretty sweet yourself, Professor," she whispered in his ear. 

Silently, she tiptoed across the room and shut the door.

Even though he was still asleep, Professor Oak smiled. 


	2. Saturday

"What's the first thing on the list, Brock?" Ash asked as the three friends arrived at Professor Oak's lab early the next morning. 

"Let's see…'let all of the Pokémon out of the Poké balls to get some exercise'."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Misty. "Wonder where Professor Oak keeps them?"

"I think I found them," said Ash. He was standing in front of a shelf that took up the entire far wall of the laboratory. Every space on the shelf was filled with Poké balls.

"There must be over a hundred Poké balls," Misty said in amazement. 

"More like three hundred," Brock interjected. 

"Well, just don't stand there," said Ash, scooping up an armful of Poké balls, "let's let everyone out! Poké ball, go!" Ash threw one of the balls and a horse with flaming mane appeared with a flash of red light.

"Whoa! Wonder what that is," said Ash as he consulted his Pokédex.

"Rapidash. A fire-type horse Pokémon…"

While Rapidash was happy to be out of its Poké ball, it definitely wasn't happy to be around three strangers in an unfamiliar setting. It wanted to be out in the fields, running free. The horse reared, whinnied, and took off down the hallway.

"Rapidash, stop!" Ash yelled as he charged after the horse with Misty and Brock on his heels. How in the world were they going to explain destroying Professor Oak's house?

They chased the horse until it was cornered in the living room. It reared up on its hind legs as Ash approached it.

"Careful, Ash," Brock warned. "Rapidash feel threatened when they're cornered."

"I'm not afraid of it. Come here, Rapidash." Ash moved closer to the horse then quickly jumped away as one of the horse's flaming hooves narrowly missed his head. "Hey!"

"Brock, give me some of your special blend Poké Chow," Misty said. "I think I know how to calm Rapidash down." She took a handful of the food and slowly moved towards the frightened horse. "Here, Rapidash. I've got a treat for you," she said quietly as she offered it the food. The horse sniffed the pellets and started eating them out of Misty's hand. "Nice Rapidash," she cooed as she stroked the horse's muzzle. "See? You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and that also goes with Rapidash."

"Grrr!" Ash fumed. Misty had bested him again. "Rapidash, return!" He held up the Poké ball and Rapidash disappeared inside with a flash of light.

"I think we'd better let the rest of the Pokémon out outside," Brock advised as they headed back to the lab.

"Ewww!" Ash had just stepped into a pile of Rapidash manure in the hallway.

---

"Good morning, Professor. How did you sleep?" Delia asked cheerfully as she opened the curtains to let the sunshine in.

"Quite well, actually." He had dreamed about her all night.

"That's good. Now let's see how that fever is." She stuck the thermometer in his mouth. "By the way, here are your clothes. I had forgotten and left them in the dryer." She held up the polka-dotted shorts. "I didn't know if you'd be more comfortable sleeping in these."

Embarrassed, he quickly snatched the underwear from her hand and stuffed it under the blanket.

The thermometer beeped. "One hundred point two. At least it's lower than yesterday." After administering him a couple of aspirin, she unscrewed the lid of the vapor rub. "You still sound a little congested. Off with the shirt."

"Oh, Mrs. Ketchum, there's really no need…"

"Shirt off, now," she ordered.

He opened his mouth to protest, but knew it would be futile to argue. At least now he had a valid excuse to let her touch him; he had tried to say no, after all.

"You know," she said as she rubbed the ointment on his chest, "it's a good thing you happened to show up on my doorstep yesterday. If you had been somewhere else when you got sick, who would've taken care of you?"

"Well, no one, really," he admitted. "I guess I would've just taken a couple of aspirin and tried to muddle through the best I could."

"And you probably would've made yourself even sicker doing that. You need to take better care of yourself. You shouldn't have even been outside on your bike on a day like yesterday. Promise me you won't do that again."

He was touched by her concern for him. "I promise."

"Okay then." She had finished with the vapor cream and was screwing the lid back on the jar. "Would you like something to eat? Toast, perhaps?"

"Yes, that's fine." 

"I'll go make you some. Be back in a moment."

__

Don't worry, Professor. I'll take care of you, Delia thought as she went downstairs to the kitchen.

---

"Poké ball, go," Misty uttered without enthusiasm. The ball popped open and Wigglytuff appeared. "That's the last one," she sighed as she flopped down on the grass beside Ash and Brock.

"How many was that?" Brock asked.

"Three-hundred-thirty-nine," Ash said wearily.

"How long did it take us to let all of them out?" Misty asked.

Brock looked at his watch. "Three hours."

"Just think," said Ash as he closed his eyes and leaned against a tree. "In three more hours we have to come back and put them all back in their Poké balls. If we start now we might be able to finish by dinner." 

Misty looked as the huge pile of Poké balls. "I hope Professor Oak didn't have these in any specific order. There's no way we're going to be able to put the Pokémon back in their original balls."

During their conversation, Togepi had been playing next to the pile of Poké balls. The curious little Pokémon decided that it might be fun to climb the giant mound, so it pulled at one of the balls at the base of the pile.

"What was that?" Brock asked.

"Togepi, no!" Misty yelled as she snatched up her Pokémon. Unfortunately, she was a fraction of a second too late. The pile of Poké balls collapsed and balls started rolling everywhere down the hill.

"Oh no!" Ash screamed as Poké balls went in every direction: down the hill, under the fence, into hedges, into the pond at the bottom of the hill.

The three friends sat there, stunned.

Brock finally spoke up. "How much time did you say we had until we have to put the Pokémon back, Ash?" 

--- 

"This is going to be our best scheme yet," a confident Jessie smiled as she and her friends walked along a trail at the base of a steep hill.

"That ol' professor's got lots of Pokémon, rare and valuable ones. We oughta have a good haul!" said Meowth, rubbing his paws together.

"The boss will be so pleased with us that he's sure to give us a promotion," James said happily.

"Let's see, first I'm going to get a Nidoqueen, then a Dratini, then a…umph!" Jessie slammed into Meowth, who had slammed into James.

"James, you idiot! Why did you stop?" Jessie said, rubbing the spot on her forehead where it had collided with the back of James' head.

"Shhh. Do you hear something, Jessie?" James had stopped in the middle of the path and appeared to be listening to something.

"How dare you shush me!" Jessie raised her fist and then stopped in mid-swing when she saw hundreds of Poké balls rolling down the hill straight towards them.

"Yahhhh!" the three screamed in unison and took off running in the opposite direction.

As they were pelted in every direction by flying Poké balls, they shouted:

"Looks like Team Rocket's rolling along again!"

--- 

__

What a day, Ash sighed as he staggered into his room and flopped into bed. 

"Yahh!" Ash jumped straight up in the air. He had forgotten that Professor Oak was still there.

"Ash, are you all right?" Ash was lying face down on the floor.

"I think so," was the muffled reply. Ash sat up and shook his head.

"So how was your day at the lab?" Professor Oak asked. He was eager to hear how things were going in his absence.

"I just got back five minutes ago," Ash said wearily.

"Five minutes ago?" Professor Oak looked at the Voltorb clock on the shelf next to the bed. "But it's nearly eight o'clock. What in the world took so long?"

Ash decided not to tell him about the Rapidash or Poké ball incident. There were still several Poké balls unaccounted for, so they had decided to let the remaining Pokémon run free around the lab.

"It's hard work having to take care of so many Pokémon. My arm's about to fall off from throwing three-hundred-thirty-nine Poké balls."

"Throwing…Ash, didn't you see the switch next to the Pokémon storage area?"

"What switch?" 

"There's a switch next to the shelf where the Pokémon are stored. All you had to do was pull it and it would've automatically released all the Pokémon from their Poké balls outside."

Ash felt sick.

"And how did you get that huge bruise on your face?"

"Uh…" Ash had fallen out of a tree while trying to retrieve several of the scattered Poké balls. "I had a little accident."

Professor Oak sighed. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the rest of this conversation.

"Go downstairs and get your mother to put something on that."

Ash took Professor Oak's advice and went downstairs.

__

My poor lab, Professor Oak fretted. _I hope there's something left for me to come home to._


	3. Sunday

Professor Oak was feeling better the next morning, so he decided to get up and have some breakfast. Delia, still in her bathrobe, was in the kitchen making oatmeal.

"Professor Oak," she exclaimed. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I was feeling a little bit better, so I thought I'd have something to eat," he said as he sat down at the kitchen table.

She felt his forehead. "You don't have a fever. Do you think you can handle some oatmeal?"

"Sounds good."

She put a bowl of oatmeal in front of him and sat down in the chair opposite him. 

It took him only a few seconds to get halfway through the bowl of oatmeal. He was starving after eating nothing but soup and toast the previous day. 

He looked up from his bowl at her. "Not hungry, Mrs. Ketchum?"

"No. I don't feel very hungry this morning," she said, resting her elbows on the kitchen table. "Actually, I think I'm going to go back to bed. I'm tired."

He studied her face. Was it his imagination or did she look flushed?

He leaned over and felt her forehead. "Mrs. Ketchum, you're running a fever. You'd better go upstairs and lie down. I'll be up in a minute."

She was just crawling back under the covers of her bed when Professor Oak entered her room with an armful of bottles and medications. "Now it's my turn to take care of you," he said as he dumped the pile of pill bottles on the nightstand next to her bed.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Professor. I'll be all right once I've had some rest," she insisted.

"Please, it's the least I can do for the kindness you've shown me the last couple of days. Now let's see how much of a temperature you have," he said as he found the thermometer. "Open wide." He was used to taking care of sick Pokémon and giving them physicals, so he found himself slipping into his usual routine. He picked up her wrist and started taking her pulse. "A bit fast, probably due to the fever," he informed her as the thermometer beeped. "Oh my, one-hundred-point-eight. You're definitely sick." He gave her a couple of aspirin. "These will help get your fever down. Oh wait, forgot to get you some water to wash those down."

As he disappeared into the bathroom, Delia fluffed a couple of pillows and propped herself up on them. Despite being sick, she was enjoying having someone fuss over her. It had been a long time since anyone had been this nice to her. 

"Here," he said as he handed her a glass of water and she swallowed the pills. "Anything else bothering you?"

"My throat's a little sore."

"Well, let's have a peek." He picked up the flashlight and peered down her throat. "There's a little inflammation…tonsils look fine. Some redness, but nothing to worry about." He put down the flashlight and started examining the lymph nodes in her neck. He stopped when he saw that she was looking at him with a "what in the world are you doing" expression. 

"Oh sorry," he said apologetically. "Guess I got carried away. I'm so used to performing physicals on Pokémon as part of my research that I just fell into my usual routine."

"No problem," she said with a smile. "Did I pass?"

"Well, I, uh, didn't finish." 

"Oh. Well you'd better go ahead, then."

He couldn't believe his ears. Delia was giving him permission to touch her?

"Are you sure?" he asked, surprised.

"Sure. I'd be crazy to pass up a free physical. Do you know how much a doctor's visit costs nowadays?"

"Well, okay," he said tentatively. "But you have to remember that I'm an expert on Pokémon physiology, not humans." He gently finished examining her neck. "Everything seems to be in order, Mrs. Ketchum. No swelling."

"Well, that's good to know." She turned her head and coughed.

"Do you need some cough medicine? I think I brought some with me in that pile of bottles."

"No, it's just a tickle. But you'd better check that out too as long as you're here."

"Well, I just looked at your throat…"

"Not my throat," she said as she undid the top button of her nightshirt.

Professor Oak couldn't believe his ears. Or his eyes, for that matter. 

"Uh, Mrs. Ketchum," he said nervously, "I usually use a stethoscope when I'm examining Pokémon."

"Oh, you don't need that. You can just do to me what I did to you the other day."

__

There is no way I'm going to be able to do this, he thought. _To put my head on her…her…_

"I'm ready when you are."

Professor Oak took a deep breath. 

__

Okay, Samuel. You can do this. You're a scientist: be clinical, objective, detached. 

He slowly leaned forward and rested his ear against her chest. As she took a deep breath, one thought was foremost in his mind:

__

I'm going to die a happy man right now.

He then desperately tried not to think about how incredibly soft she was and how nice it was to be lying against her.

__

Stop it! You're taking advantage of the situation. Remember: be clinical, detached, scientific. Treat her like one of the Pokémon.

He then closed his eyes and tried to focus on the task at hand.

__

Okay, pretend you're examining one of your Pokémon. Let's see…lungs clear, no sign of congestion. Heart sounds strong…normal rate and rhythm.

Unlike his, which was beating so fast that he felt as if it would pop out of his chest at any second.

He sat up. "Well, everything sounds fine, Mrs. Ketchum. Aside from the fever, you're remarkably healthy." He was trying to sound normal, but he was so nervous that his voice ended up sounding not unlike Pikachu's.

"Well, that's good to hear," Delia said as she buttoned her nightshirt. "Maybe I should start going to you for my physicals."

He wished she hadn't said that. He was having a hard enough time controlling what he felt for her without her putting other tantalizing images in his head.

"Well, that's nice of you to say, but I think my Pokémon patients would be rather upset if I started practicing medicine on humans. Why don't I go downstairs…"

__

And take a cold shower.

"…and get you something to eat. Do you think you could handle a little toast, perhaps?"

"Sure. That sounds okay."

He jumped off of her bed and ran right into the bedroom door. "Oops, there's a door there," he said sheepishly as he rubbed his injured nose. "Back in a minute," he said as he took off down the hall. 

---

When Ash wandered into the kitchen for breakfast (the "splat" that Professor Oak had made when he ran into the door woke him up), he was surprised to see Professor Oak standing in front of the freezer with the door wide open.

"Professor Oak? What are you doing?"

Startled, Professor Oak turned around. "I..uh..," he stammered, trying to think of a plausible excuse.

__

Oh, just cooling myself down after playing doctor with your mother. 

"I, uh, was trying to find the bread so I could make some toast."

"In the freezer?" Ash gave him a funny look. "All you're going to find in there is leftover meatloaf and half a carton of ice cream. Why don't you just get Mom to make you some?"

"She's sick, Ash. She must've caught the same bug I had," he said, closing the freezer door. "Looks like it's just us guys today."

__

Oh, great, Ash thought. _I get to spend the day hanging out with Professor Oak._

"Where does your mother keep the bread?"

"In the bread box," Ash said, pointing to a box on the counter clearly labeled "bread".

"Oh, you're right." 

Ash rolled his eyes. Professor Oak might be a brilliant scientist, but he was hopelessly incompetent in the kitchen.

"Now that the toast is going, would you like something else to eat? Oatmeal? Pancakes? I can make us some eggs if you'd like."

"No! I mean, no thanks, Professor." Ash knew that the man was capable of screwing up something as simple as cracking a couple of eggs. "I think your toast is done." 

Smoke was coming out of the toaster.

Professor Oak ran to the toaster, grabbed the burnt pieces of bread, and cursing, quickly dropped them as he burned his hands.

"Damn it! Son of a…." He stopped in mid-phrase when he realized that Ash was looking at him with a mixture of shock and amusement. He had never heard Professor Oak swear before.

"Sorry, Ash," he muttered through gritted teeth as he continued to swear under his breath.

"I think I'll just have some cold cereal," Ash said as he opened the cupboard. "Do you want Pokéberry Crunch or Staryu Stars?"

---

__

Hope she likes Staryu Stars, Professor Oak thought as he climbed the stairs with a tray of breakfast, which wobbled precariously as he tried to keep the tray from touching the burns on his fingers. 

He opened the door to her room a crack and peeked in. Delia was asleep, lying on her back with one arm flung across her chest. Being careful not to disturb her, he gently felt her forehead. The medicine had worked; her fever was down. Satisfied, Professor Oak turned and started to leave.

"Samuel…"

__

Oh no, I woke her up, Professor Oak thought. He turned around to apologize to her, but her eyes were still closed.

__

That's odd.

"Samuel…" Delia murmured again.

__

She's talking in her sleep, he realized. _And she's dreaming about me._

Intrigued, he stood over the bed waiting to see if Delia would say anything else.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Samuel…you're…so sweet." 

__

Awww, isn't that nice of her to say that, Professor Oak thought as he leaned over the bed. 

"I think you're pretty sweet yourself, Mrs. Ketchum," he whispered in her ear. 

Silently, he tiptoed across the room and shut the door.

Even though she was still asleep, Delia smiled. 

--- 

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Ketchum?" 

"Better since I had a nap. I must say that you look a lot better."

While she had been sleeping, he had gone back to the lab to shower and shave (something he hadn't been able to do for two days) and to check on the Pokémon. As soon as Delia was well, he was going to have to spend a few days at the lab trying to put the Poké balls back in order. Ash, Misty, and Brock had put the Poké balls back in whatever spaces they could find on the shelf, and his filing system was now totally shot. Several Pokémon were even running loose around the lab, since their Poké balls never turned up after Togepi's mishap. 

"Need anything? Aspirin? A glass of water? Something to eat?"

__

Another physical?

"No, I'm fine. Actually, I was getting ready to finish reading my novel." She indicated a book on the nightstand.

"Would you like for me to read to you?" he asked as he pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down.

"That would be lovely, Professor."

He picked up the book. "_Pirates of the Passionate Seas_. Sounds like an exciting adventure." He turned to the page she had bookmarked and started to read:

"Jean-Luc grabbed a rope and swung down the sail, his taut arm muscles rippling. He landed in front of Lady Marissa and made a courtly bow.

'The enemy has been defeated, my lady. You are safe now. I am your humble servant, now and forever.'

Lady Marissa could barely control herself at the sight of his swarthy gaze.

'Then I command you to take me now,' she moaned as she put her hands inside his shirt, caressing the hard contours of his broad, muscular chest.

With one savage gesture, Jean-Luc ripped open the bodice of Lady Marissa's gown to expose her creamy white…"

Professor Oak's eyebrows shot up as he quickly scanned the dialogue on the rest of the page. There was no way he was going to be able to read the rest of this out loud.

"Mrs. Ketchum," he said as he put down the book. "Why don't we read something a little less…uh…exciting, shall we?" He searched through the bookcase next to the bed. "How about some poetry instead?"

"I didn't know you liked poetry," she said, pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, yes. Actually, I even write a little bit myself." He started browsing through the pages of the book he had selected.

"Really? You'll have to read me some of your work sometime." This was a surprise. She had always had assumed Professor Oak was the clinical, scientific type. It was nice to know that under that lab coat beat the heart of a poet.

"Oh, it's not very good," he said dismissively. "Nothing like this." He started to read:

"Beneath the myrtle's secret shade,

When Delia blessed my eyes;

At first I viewed the lovely maid

In silent soft surprise.

With trembling voice, and anxious mind,

I softly whispered love;

She blushed a smile so sweetly kind,

Did all my fears remove.

Her lovely yielding form I pressed,

Sweet maddening kisses stole;

And soon her swimming eyes confessed

The wishes of her soul:

In wild tumultuous bliss, I cry,

'O Delia, now be kind!'

She pressed me close, and with a sigh,

To melting joys resigned."

"That was wonderful," Delia sighed. "You read that with such feeling."

__

Because it's exactly how I feel about you.

"Oh, well," he said shyly. "I can't take credit for that. Robert Dodsley came up with the poem." 

He hesitated for a moment, re-reading the lines of the poem silently. 

"Delia…that's such a pretty name," he mused. "Would it be all right if I started calling you that?"

"Well, that's my name, isn't it?" said Delia. "Does that mean that I can start calling you by your first name?"

"Oh, certainly, by all means. It's…" He was so ecstatic that he had forgotten what his first name was.

"Pikachu!"

Professor Oak looked down and there was Pikachu sitting on the bed.

"Pika! Pika-pi!" Pikachu gestured frantically at the door.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Delia asked.

"Looks like Pikachu wants us to follow him. I'll go see what's wrong." 

Pikachu jumped off the bed and ran downstairs, where Ash was frantically trying to pull Mimie's arm out of the drain in the kitchen sink.

"What in the world is going on here?" Professor Oak exclaimed at the sight of the boy and the struggling Pokémon.

"Mimie was trying to help out by cleaning out the blocked sink and now he's stuck!" Ash pulled even harder at Mimie.

"Don't keep pulling! You'll dislocate Mimie's shoulder! Let me have a look." Ash quit tugging on Mimie and stepped aside to let Professor Oak survey the scene.

"How did the sink get blocked in the first place?" Professor Oak asked as he tried to figure out a way to extricate Mimie's arm.

"Remember? You threw the burned toast down there."

__

Oops.

Professor Oak tugged and pulled on Mimie's arm. "It's no use, Mimie. You're stuck fast."

"Mime! Mime-mime!" the Pokémon yelled. 

(Translation: " I know that already! Get me out of here!" Mimie was already upset with Professor Oak for monopolizing Delia.)

"Hey, Professor Oak, I've got an idea." Ash took out one of his Poké balls. "Squirtle, I choose you!"

With a flash of light, the turtle Pokémon appeared.

"Squirtle, use your water gun to blast Mimie out of the sink!"

"Wait, Ash, I don't think that's such a good…"

Squirtle nodded in affirmation and shot a blast of water into the drain. Mimie's arm flew out of the drain, along with the burnt toast. The force of the blast sent Mimie crashing into Ash, who went flying into Professor Oak, knocking all three of them to the floor.

Ash slowly sat up and surveyed the scene. Water was everywhere: on the floor, the walls, even the ceiling. The dishes that had previously been in the sink were now lying scattered in several pieces on the floor. Chunks of burnt toast were sticking to the ceiling and walls. Squirtle was lying on his back, spinning in a circle.

"Mom's gonna kill us," Ash said quietly.

--- 

"What was that noise downstairs?" Delia asked as Professor Oak opened the door to her room. He, Ash, and Mimie had just spent the last hour trying to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing to worry about. Everything's under control."

Delia noticed that he had a piece of burnt toast stuck in his hair. 

"Maybe I should go downstairs and make sure," she said as she started to get out of bed.

"No, no," Professor Oak gently placed his hands on her shoulders and made her lie back down. "You're too sick to be getting out of bed. Ash and I will take care of everything while you get well." He tucked the blankets around her shoulders.

"You and Ash seem to be getting along well."

"Well, we have had an opportunity to spend some time together." 

__

Especially the last hour. 

"There's a favor I've been meaning to ask of you for some time. Since you're here, I think now would be the perfect time to ask."

"Anything, Delia. Name it." He would've done anything for her.

"Could you talk to Ash about growing up, becoming a man? Since his father's not around anymore, I was thinking that you'd be the perfect one to tell him all about se…"

__

Anything but that.

"Uh, Delia," he interrupted, "don't you think that maybe you should be the one to talk to him about that?"

"Oh, I have talked to him about it a little, but this is really something that's best handled man-to-man. And besides, you're the smartest man I know," she beamed up at him.

He wished she hadn't done that. There was no way he could refuse that lovely smile.

"All right, I'll talk to him," he reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks so much, Professor…I mean, Samuel." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Surprised by her display of affection, he turned to leave and ran right into the bedroom door again.

Delia just shook her head and smiled.

--- 

"Ash, now that you're growing up…no that doesn't sound right. Ash, you're becoming a man now and there are certain things you need to…no, that doesn't sound right, either." Professor Oak was pacing in a circle in the living room, agonizing over what he would tell Ash. The prospect of discussing the facts of life with an eleven-year old boy was more frightening than dealing with the wildest of Pokémon.

"Ash…"

"Yeah, Professor?"

Professor Oak jumped. Ash had come into the room and was standing right behind him. 

"Ah, there you are, Ash, my boy," Professor Oak said nervously. "Your mother wanted me to have a little talk with you about something. Why don't you have a seat?"

Ash took a seat on the couch, eyeing Professor Oak warily. The old man was acting really weird.

Professor Oak sat down in the chair opposite Ash. "Um, Ash, Your mother wanted me to talk to you about…about….well, now that you're getting older, there are certain things you need to know."

"You mean about girls?"

"Yes, girls and…other things."

"Brock already told me about it. And it's pretty gross if you ask me. I don't see why he thinks that doing that with girls is so fun. "

"Oh, so Brock's already been with a girl?" 

"Well, no. But I think he really wants to be, though. The only problem is that he can't find any girls who want to be with him."

"I see." The two of them sat there in awkward silence for a moment. "Ash, have _you_ ever felt like Brock does around a girl?"

Ash had to admit that he did get kind of tongue-tied and tingly around Misty once in a while…like the time at the festival when she wore the pretty kimono and let her hair down. 

Professor Oak saw Ash's face turn red. Aha, the boy did have a crush on someone.

"It's perfectly natural to feel that way about a girl, Ash. Is there someone in particular you feel that way about?"

Ash stared down at the floor.

"Misty, perhaps?"

"Yeah," was the inaudible reply. "I get kinda tingly around her sometimes."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it," Ash said as he jumped up, eager to escape the awkward conversation. If Professor Oak had even mentioned the word "sex" he would've died then and there.

Ash opened the door. 

"Hi, Ash."

"Aaugh! Misty!" Ash's face turned bright red at the sight of the object of their conversation. Ash ran past her and out the door. 

"Hello, Professor Oak," Misty said as they watched Ash disappear down the street. "What's wrong with Ash?" 

"Oh, we were just having a little talk and I think he needed some fresh air."

--- 

"How about some soup, Delia?" 

"Looks delicious," she said as he placed the tray on her lap. "Who was that at the door?"

"Misty. She stopped by to see Ash." Professor Oak had also talked Misty into running down to the local café to get some soup. There was no way Professor Oak was going to go near the kitchen again.

"How did your conversation go with Ash, by the way?"

__

Oh, I just drove your son off screaming, but other than that, everything went well.

"We…uh…we talked."

She picked up the spoon on the tray.

"Wait, Delia. Would you like me to feed you?" He took the spoon from her and scooped up a spoonful of soup. "Open wide."

"Mmm. That is good," she said as he spoon-fed her. "I didn't realize you were such a good cook, Samuel. What's in this soup? I'd like to make some for Ash when I get better."

He didn't have a clue as to what was in the soup.

"Uh, I'll give you the recipe the next time you stop by the lab."

---

Ash didn't return home for several hours. When he did, he tried to sneak in so that he would avoid running into Professor Oak. Ash didn't want to face him now, especially after confessing his feelings about Misty. He also didn't want to take the chance that Professor Oak would try to continue their conversation from earlier that afternoon. 

Ash slowly opened the back door. So far, so good. The kitchen was empty. Now all he had to do was make it up the stairs and…Aw, jeez, that's right. Professor Oak was still using his bedroom. Ash didn't really have anywhere to hide since he was temporarily relegated to sleeping on the living room couch. He thought about taking his sleeping bag and sleeping outside, but it was freezing cold out there. The only place he could go to be alone was the bathroom, but he didn't think he could stay there all night without arousing suspicion. Well, he didn't really have any choice, so he headed down the hall to the guest bathroom.

…and ran right into Professor Oak.

"Ah, there you are, Ash. I was getting worried about you. Your mother's sleeping soundly." He steered Ash into the living room. "After this morning's episode, I took the liberty of ordering us some pizza. I hope you like anchovy-spinach-pineapple."

Ash made a face. "Uh, I'm not really hungry, Professor Oak. I think I'm gonna go lie down for a while."

"You're not getting sick are you, Ash?" Professor Oak leaned over and felt Ash's forehead. "No fever."

"No, it's not that. It's just…" Ash's voice trailed off as he sat down on the couch across from Professor Oak.

"Ash, about the conversation we had earlier…"

__

Oh no, here it comes. Ash squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.

Professor Oak smiled. "Ash, I hope you know by now that you can trust me. I'm not going to repeat anything we've discussed to anyone, not even your mother. And I certainly didn't tell Misty anything, if that's what you're worried about." 

Ash visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Professor Oak."

"Ash, what you feel for Misty is perfectly normal. All men have those feelings. Even I have those feelings myself sometimes."

Ash was shocked. "But Professor, you're…you're _old_!"

Professor Oak made a face. "I'm not _that_ old, Ash."

In Ash's mind, anyone who was older than Brock (meaning all adults) was old.

"But Misty's my _friend_. I don't want to feel that way about her. It's too weird." Ash paused for a second. "Professor, you and my mom are friends, right?"

Caught completely off guard by Ash's query, Professor Oak stammered, "Uh….we…well, that is to say….your mother is a nice-looking …I mean nice, woman, Ash. I guess we are friends, if that's what you're asking."

"Do you get all tingly whenever you're around my mom?"

Professor Oak's face turned bright red. "Uh…I….never mind that, Ash." He quickly changed the subject. "Ash, I have an idea. Why don't we use Pokémon as an example to illustrate what I'm trying to tell you? Do you remember when you told me about when you released Butterfree?"

"Sure." Ash still missed Butterfree sometimes.

"Why did you let Butterfree go?"

"Because he met a girl Butterfree and wanted to be with her."

"It's the same way with people, too, Ash. You see…."

---

"Need anything else, Delia? We have plenty of leftover pizza if you feel up to eating."

"No, I think I'm fine right now." Ash had already warned her about the pizza. 

"How's your fever?" He reached out and felt her forehead. "A little warm, perhaps. I can't really tell."

"Try your lips."

"Huh?" He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"Use your lips. It's a mom trick. Your lips are more sensitive than your hands."

"Okay." She didn't have to do much to persuade him. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds to savor the moment.

"Well, Professor?" He was staring at her with a goofy grin on his face. "Am I warm or not?"

"Oh, you're definitely hot."

Oh jeez, he hadn't meant to say _that_.

"I…I mean, it's getting hot it here, isn't it? Maybe I'd better go downstairs and turn on the air conditioning." He quickly jumped off of the bed.

"Samuel, it's the middle of November. It's freezing outside!"

"Nevertheless, I think some cool air will do some good." At least it would for him, anyway.

"Watch out for the…"

__

Splat. 

"….door."

--- 

Professor Oak checked on her again just before he went to bed. He was worried when he saw her. She appeared to be restless, tossing about and mumbling something incoherently. Suddenly, her eyes opened. Obviously frightened, she saw him standing over her bed and threw her arms around him. He put his arms around her and held her. "Delia, are you all right?" She was clutching him so tightly that he could feel her heart pounding.

"I was so scared. It was so dark." She was shaking.

"You're safe now, Delia. Everything's all right," he said reassuringly as he stroked her hair. He felt her relax against him. 

Delia sighed and snuggled against him.

He felt her forehead. "Your fever's back up. That's probably what caused your nightmare. Let me get you some aspirin," he said as he gently laid her back on her pillow.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked after she swallowed the pills.

"Stay with me until I fall asleep. Please?" 

"Certainly. I'm not leaving your side until you go back to sleep." He started stroking her hair again as her eyes closed.


	4. Monday

The next morning, Professor Oak awoke to discover that he was in Delia's bed, lying next to her with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

__

Uh-oh.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was lying atop the covers and Delia was underneath the blankets.

Nothing had happened between them, but he knew that if he stayed there much longer next to her something probably would. Carefully, he eased his arm out from around her and started to sit up when the door swung open and Ash barged in.

"Hey, Mom…oh, hi, Professor Oak. What are you doing in my mom's bed?"

__

Uh-oh, this looks really bad, Professor Oak thought_. _

"Uh, your mother had a nightmare last night and wanted me to stay with her until she fell asleep. Guess I must've fallen asleep, too."

__

Even I don't buy that excuse and it's the truth.

But amazingly, Ash did.

"Oh, okay," Ash said nonchalantly. "When Mom wakes up, could you tell her that Misty and Brock are here?"

Professor Oak was dumbfounded. 

__

Didn't you learn anything from our talk last night, Ash? Aren't you even the least bit suspicious about my being in bed with your mother? 

It was obvious that Ash could be rather clueless when it came to relationships.

"Yes, I'll tell her. Now why don't you go downstairs and let your mother sleep a little longer?"

"Okay." Ash went downstairs to join his friends.

Professor Oak reluctantly got out of bed and shook his head.

__

Misty's going to have her hands full with that boy, he smiled.

--- 

After running home to check on the Pokémon, Professor Oak returned to the Ketchum house to attend to his other charge.

"How are you feeling this morning, Delia?" She had just awakened and was sitting up in bed.

"Much better, actually. I slept wonderfully last night after you put me back to bed. It felt like you were right there beside me all night last night."

"Uh…" Professor Oak felt his face turning red again. "Let's check your temperature, shall we?" He quickly grabbed the thermometer and put it in her mouth, then picked up her wrist and started taking her pulse.

"Samu…"

"Shh, no talking." He was looking down at his watch, acting as if he were concentrating intently on counting her pulse. Actually, he was trying to avoid looking at her until the redness in his face subsided. "Pulse is good," he noted as he took the thermometer out of her mouth. "Ninety-nine four, getting close to normal again. How do you feel? Anything else bothering you?"

"Actually," she said, tossing aside the blankets, "I feel so much better that I think I'm going to take a shower. I could use one."

"Do you think that's a good idea, Delia? I mean, if you're feeling weak from being sick you might fall and hurt yourself."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be fine." She breezed past him and went into the bathroom that connected to her bedroom.

Professor Oak was worried that Delia might get dizzy or faint and need his help, so he decided to stay close by until she was through taking her shower. As he heard the water start running, he could hear her humming a little tune. As much as he tried not to concentrate on the mental image of her in the shower, he found that he couldn't think of anything else but that. He needed a distraction; he picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.

"Today on the Monty Morris Show: men who secretly lust after their next-door neighbors…"

__

Click.

"In the shower, Soft Touch soap makes my skin so soft that it's silky to the touch…."

__

Click.

"Oh ba-a-a-by, you make me so hot and I don't know how! So hot that I want you now…"

__

Click.

"Coming up on the Romance Channel: "Secret Love", the story of a man too shy to confess his true feelings for the woman he secretly loves…"

"Samuel?"

He jumped at the sound of her voice and dropped the remote control. The batteries popped out as it hit the floor and rolled under the bed.

"Sorry to startle you." She had opened the bathroom door a crack and her towel-wrapped head was the only thing visible. "I forgot to bring a nightgown in with me. Could you get me one, please? They're in the top drawer of that dresser."

He wandered over to the dresser and was confronted by a drawer full of silky, lacy creations. Not knowing which one to choose, he dug around until he pulled one out of the pile and held it up. It was a long, silky nightgown the color of the summer sky. 

"That's fine. Could you bring it over here, please?" He gingerly handed her the nightgown through the crack in the door, not daring to look to see if she had any clothes on or not. He didn't think he would've been able to handle the sight of her naked. "Thanks."

He sat back down on the bed and wearily rubbed the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He wondered if she had any idea of the effect she had on him. 

__

I'm getting too old for this. 

The bathroom door opened and she stepped out. The sight of her in the stunning nightgown with her hair down around her shoulders literally took his breath away. 

"Oh, my….Mrs. Ketchum." He couldn't take any more. He bolted from the room, for once actually avoiding slamming headfirst into the bedroom door.

--- 

An apron-clad Brock was busy making pancakes in the kitchen. Professor Oak had asked (begged, actually) him to make breakfast for Delia. 

"Professor, my famous blueberry pancakes are almost…" Professor Oak ran past Brock and out the back door. "Professor?" Brock looked out the window. Professor Oak was standing in the middle of the yard in the freezing wind and cold.

Brock, fearing that Professor Oak was losing his mind, set aside his cooking and went outside. 

"Professor Oak, are you all right?"

"Oh, Brock," Professor Oak turned at the sound of Brock's voice. "Yes, I'll be okay in a few minutes. I just needed to cool off." The two started to shiver as the frigid wind blew so hard that it nearly knocked them off their feet. 

Brock was confused. "Cool off? It's not hot in the house at all."

"Not that kind of cooling off, Brock." He figured that girl-crazy Brock would understand his plight.

"Oh! I get it. Actually, Professor, a cold shower usually works better. I also prefer an ice pack or standing in front of the freezer."

"I tried that already." He decided to confide in the teenager, figuring that Brock was the one most likely to understand how he felt. "I don't think she even knows the effect she has on me."

"Mrs. Ketchum? She's a very desirable woman, Professor."

Surprised at Brock's statement, Professor Oak turned and looked at the teenager.

"Uh, I mean," Brock said as his face turned bright red, "that Mrs. Ketchum is a fine, upstanding woman." Brock hastily changed the subject. "You really shouldn't stand out here in the cold. You'll get sick again. Why don't you come inside and have some of my famous blueberry pancakes?"

"In a minute, Brock."

"What's Professor Oak doing standing outside in the cold like that?" Misty asked Brock when he came back inside the house.

"He's in love." 

"What?" exclaimed a surprised Misty.

"He likes Ash's mom. _Really_ likes her."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Misty gushed. "They're so cute together. Wouldn't that be something if Professor Oak became Ash's stepdad?" 

"What?!" Ash had wandered in the kitchen just in time to overhear Misty's statement. At the same time, a nearly frozen Professor Oak came inside to face the three adolescents. Brock was looking at him with an expression that clearly said "all right, dude!" A dewy-eyed Misty was regarding him with a "how sweet" look on her face. 

"Pancakes, anyone?" Brock asked.

Ash, who had been staring with his mouth wide open in horror at Professor Oak, ran out of the room. Misty took off after him, leaving Brock and Professor Oak alone in the kitchen.

"W-w-what was t-t-that all about?" a confused Professor Oak shivered.

"You know, Professor, I really admire you," Brock said with envy. "A man your age who still has the guts to pursue a young woman like Mrs. Ketchum. I can only say that I hope that when I'm your age that I'll be able to follow your example."

Professor Oak just shook his head as he wandered out of the kitchen, leaving Brock holding a plate of pancakes.

---

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty asked as she followed him into the living room.

"My mom and Professor Oak, that's what's wrong!" He flopped onto the couch.

"Why? I think it's sweet that they like each other," Misty said as she sat down beside Ash.

"Yeah, but the thought of them and all that mushy love stuff….ewwww!"

"What's wrong with that, Ash? I think you should be happy that your mom has someone to be with."

"But they're _friends_, Misty. I never thought that the two of them…that he felt like…that my mom…"

"Why can't two friends like each other enough to fall in love?"

"Because it's _weird_, Misty. It's weird! Friends aren't supposed to feel that way about each other."

"I don't think it's so weird, Ash. If you really care about someone who's your friend, then it makes sense that you would fall in love with them."

"Yeah, but falling in love changes things. People get all silly and start acting like Brock."

"Not necessarily. Brock is definitely an extreme case."

"But I don't want things to change. I like things the way they are."

"Change doesn't necessarily have to be bad, Ash. There are changes that can be good, you know."

Ash had never thought about it that way. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, Misty." He smiled at her. "Thanks."

Misty leaned over and nudged Ash. "Trust me, Ash. Things will work out just fine. Now let's go get some pancakes before they get cold."

---

Professor Oak's teeth were still chattering when he went back upstairs. After nearly freezing to death, he figured that he'd be able to handle being around Delia and that sexy nightgown of hers now.

"Samuel, why did you…are you cold?" She noticed that he was shivering. 

"N-no. I'm o-okay." 

She reached up and touched his face. "You're freezing!" She lifted up the blankets on the place in the bed next to her. "Get under these blankets next to me right now and warm up! You're going to get sick again."

__

That's it. I can't take any more of this.

He finally snapped. "For crying out loud, Delia! I can't handle this anymore!"

"Handle what?" 

"You! Being around you in that nightgown, thinking about how you look in the shower, putting my head against your…your…"

"Professor, maybe you'd better lie down." She pointed to the spot next to her in the bed. "You're starting to scare me."

"Lie down! Delia, if I get in that bed next to you I'm not going to be able to control myself anymore. I'll start attacking you like some lust-crazed Tauros." He sat down at the foot of the bed, as far away from her as possible. "As I was telling your son last night, I might be old but I'm not dead yet. I have those feelings and urges, too….especially when I'm around you. I've been trying desperately to control them, but you're not making things easy for me. Why do you think I've been standing outside for the last twenty minutes freezing to death?" He laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I've even been asking Brock for advice on how to cool my ardor," he said with a light laugh. 

Delia was astonished by his confession. "Samuel, I had no idea that you felt that way about me." 

Dumbfounded, he turned his head and stared at her. "You had no idea…you didn't think there was anything odd about how I kept bolting out of your room and into the bedroom door?"

"Well, no. I just thought you needed glasses or something."

Professor Oak sighed wearily and put his hands over his face. Now he understood why Ash turned out the way he did. It was obvious that there was a gene for inability to perceive romantic interest.

Delia smiled to herself. "Samuel, you've been nothing but kind to me since you've been here. You fed me soup, comforted me when I had my nightmare, gave me my medicine, read to me, even gave me a free physical. No man has ever treated me as nicely as you have, not even my late husband." She leaned over and gently touched his shoulder. "And you read me that lovely poem, too. What was it called again?"

"The Progress of Love."

_Appropriate title,_ she thought as she gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

"I have an idea. Once I get better, why don't we start going out together? Dating, I mean. We already go out together a lot, carpooling and traveling together. But I mean a _real_ date, like going out to see a movie or something like that."

He uncovered his eyes and looked at her. "I'd like that."

"Good. Now why don't you go downstairs and get Brock to make you some hot chocolate? And I thought I smelled pancakes."

"I'll bring you some when I come back upstairs." He stood up and turned to go. He hesitated for a second, then bent down and kissed her. "You really do make me crazy. You honestly had no idea of the effect you have on me?"

"None whatsoever," she giggled. 

__

I really should do a research paper on the gene behind the inability to perceive the obvious, he smiled as he went downstairs.

--- 

By later that afternoon, Delia's fever had abated. Even though she insisted that she felt well enough to get out of bed, Professor Oak insisted that she stay put for the rest of the day just to make sure she had fully recovered from her illness. 

To pass the time, the two friends were engrossed in a game of chess. 

"Checkmate! I win again."

Professor Oak had just lost his third game in a row. He usually didn't play this badly, but he usually didn't have a pretty woman like Delia distracting him, either.

"So you have," he said, studying the board. "What do I owe you this time?" To keep things interesting, they had made little bets on each game.

"Let's see," she said, "you now owe me a dollar, a new Poké ball for Ash, and a watering can for my garden. Shall we play again?"

"Okay. What shall we play for this time?"

Delia thought about it for a second. Now that she knew how he felt about her, she was feeling a bit bolder. "I know. If I win, then you have to cook me dinner."

Professor Oak frowned. "Considering my abilities, or should I say lack thereof, in the kitchen, that might be a more appropriate prize if you lost."

Delia laughed. "Okay. If I win, then you have to take me out to dinner. How about that?"

"All right, that sounds like a good bet," he said as he set up the pieces on the game board. He was definitely going to make sure that he lost this time.

"What about you? What do you want if you win?" Delia asked.

__

Now there's a loaded question.

Professor Oak thought for a moment. "I know. If I win, then I get to take _you_ out to dinner."

Delia was puzzled. "But that's what I just said."

"I know. That way, we both win."

Delia grinned and then proceeded to win her fourth game in a row.


	5. One Week Later

That weekend Professor Oak made good on his bet and took Delia out to dinner. They opted for a little pizza place downtown.

"One large pizza, half anchovy-spinach-pineapple and half just spinach." Professor Oak gave the menu back to the waiter, who left to get their order.

"I have a present for you," Delia said as she handed him a small package wrapped in colorful paper. "It's a thank-you present for taking care of me when I was sick."

"Delia, you didn't have to do that," he said as he unwrapped the present. "_The Cave of the Clefairy_." 

"It's the latest in the _Pokémon Journeys _series. Ash recommends it highly."

He smiled as he thumbed through the book. "Thank you, Delia. I'll have to get started on this tomorrow."

"You're welco…ow!" She started rubbing her eye.

"What's wrong?"

"Feels like something blew into my eye."

"Don't keep rubbing it. Let me take a look." Professor Oak leaned across the table and started examining her eye. "Yes, there's something there. Don't move." With a flick of his fingertip, he removed the speck from her eye. "I believe that got it. The irritation should subside in a few minutes."

"I really should make you my doctor, Samuel. You're so good at this."

"How about a free eye exam?"

"Okay." He took her face into his hands and peered at her eyes.

"What do you think?"

"Perfect. Just like you." He leaned over and kissed her.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Ash, Brock, and Misty were sitting at a booth on the other side of the restaurant.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Delia asked, trying to regain her composure. Professor Oak hastily sat back down in his seat.

"Chaperoning!" the three friends said in unison.

"Now remember, Professor Oak, don't keep my mom out too late. Be sure to have her home by eleven." Ash winked.

"Aww, they're so cute together," Misty whispered to her friends.

"You're a lucky man, Professor," Brock said, hoping that he'd still be able to get nice-looking women like Mrs. Ketchum when he was Professor Oak's age. 

"Do you want to go someplace else, Delia?" a rather embarrassed Professor Oak asked.

"Well, we've already ordered the pizza. But maybe we can head back to your place when we're through eating. After all, I still need to collect the rest of my chess game bets."

"Which one? I already gave you the dollar, Ash's Poké ball, the watering can, and we're here at dinner."

"The last one, remember?" She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

He started blushing. "Oh, _that_ one!" He quickly called the waiter over. "Can we get our pizza to go, please?" 

THE END


End file.
